Visit us online at www.stateparks.IN.gov What’s New in State Parks and Reservoirs in 2014

Enjoy this snapshot of some of the work we have done to prepare for your visits in 2014. Please know that there are hundreds of other projects and events not mentioned that are also designed to manage and interpret the facilities, natural and cultural resources, and history of ’s state parks and reservoirs.

Much of the work completed in 2014 did not involve new construction or major infrastructure overhauls. We have more than 2,000 buildings, 700 miles of trails, 631 hotel/lodge rooms, 75 marinas, 16 swimming pools, 15 beaches, almost 8,400 campsites, more than 200 shelters, 160 or so playgrounds and 149 cabins. That’s a lot of maintenance. In these tight fiscal conditions, most of our time and energy has been focused on basic facility care.

We have wonderful partners and volunteers who help us accomplish a variety of projects. Our Friends groups contributed thousands of dollars and hours for projects and events. We have creative and dedicated staff who stretch the dollars that you pay when you enter the gate, rent a campsite, launch a boat or attend a special workshop or program. Our goal is to provide you with a great experience during every visit.

Your Indiana state parks and reservoirs are a great value, both in cost and in serving as great places to get healthy, relax in the outdoors and create great stories and memories for the future. Get outside with your family and friends – you’ll be glad you did. See you on the trail in 2014.

Across the Division • Look for a new, simpler Hoosier Quest patch program this summer—it will be available by Memorial Day. Keep an eye on the Web page at www.stateparks.IN.gov/2418.htm. • Help your children or grandchildren check off the 11 important things every Hoosier child should do outdoors. See more at www.childrenplayoutdoors.dnr.IN.gov. • Play the SPR GO! game and visit enough state parks and reservoirs to “BINGO!” It’s a great family activity to try. See www.stateparks.IN.gov/gamecard. • Fees for annual passes, lake permits, swimming, camping, daily entrance and most other products and services remain the same in 2014. See details at www.stateparks.IN.gov/2391.htm. • Our SPR Go! (Get Outside) program is a particularly good value in 2014 because it is still being sold at 2012 prices. Prices increased for 2013 on annual passes, camping, swimming and motorized lake permits. See www.stateparks.IN.gov/7313.htm. • We continue to protect our campground shade trees and forests with the firewood property rule. Bring firewood from home only with bark removed or purchase firewood bearing a state or federal compliance stamp. It may also be permissible to bring scrap kiln dried lumber. More info at www.firewood.dnr.IN.gov. • Our partnership with Traditional Arts Indiana continues. Potawatomi Indian and other local artists and traditional craftsmen and women will be featured in an exhibit at Potato Creek this summer. • Our special events calendar is filled with opportunities for inexpensive fun and family memory making. Visit www.stateparks.in.gov to get details.

Brookville/Whitewater Complex • Rehabbed boat docks will be in service by Memorial Day weekend. • The area around Fairfield Marina was dredged. • Cabin users will appreciate the new queen beds that replaced the full-sized ones at Whitewater Memorial. Twin mattresses were also replaced. Most cabins got new sleeper sofas, dining tables and chairs.

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Brown County State Park • A solitary bee and pollinator habitat “hotel” has been installed at the Nature Center pond. • Six duplex cabins will soon be under construction at Abe Martin Lodge. Targeted completion is fall.

Chain O’Lakes State Park • Hike along the edge of Sand Lake through a deep maple forest, near a beaver dam and back to the beach on an extension of Trail 3, which runs from the campground to the beach. It is now a 1.3-mile loop. • Play table tennis at the beach with new outdoor tables. Paddles are provided on loan and table tennis balls can be purchased at the concession stand. • Rent a bicycle at the park’s boat rental. Several sizes are available for the family to use on the park roads. • The restoration of the 1915 Stanley Schoolhouse continues with installation of a potbelly stove and a 1912 upright piano that sits where the original piano was located.

Charlestown State Park • Work is underway to install exhibits that tell the story of Rose Island, an amusement park located along the Ohio River in the early 20th Century. The site will be closed until 2015 for that purpose.

Clifty Falls State Park • New flexible markers are being installed on trails. They offer ease of viewing and durability. • Visitors will find bridge and culvert renewal going on at Clifty Falls throughout 2014. Road closures will be limited to weekdays. All roads will be open on weekends for normal traffic flow. • A new assistant property manager and new interpretive naturalist will greet visitors this year.

Falls of the Ohio State Park • The butterfly garden is undergoing improvements. • A new honorarium bench will be dedicated in July 2014. • Final planning is underway for the completion of the $5.5 million exhibit project. Installation should occur in late 2014/early 2015.

Fort Harrison State Park • Two dog park play areas are open. Dog park passes are available at the park office. • New bike racks funded by the Friends of Fort Harrison are located across the park. • Improvements continue on the park’s multi-use trails. • A wide variety of military re-enactments connect Fort Harrison’s history to the lives of men and women who have served in our Armed Forces. More at www.interpretiveservices.IN.gov.

Hardy Lake • A new archery range has been developed near the property office. • The basketball court has a new coat of paint. • The property office and gatehouses have been organized and operations streamlined. • All trails have been cleared of debris and downed trees.

Harmonie State Park • A new sun shelter near the baby pool will provide shade, thanks to the Friends of . • Playgrounds in the campground and Maple Grove Picnic Area were spruced up this winter. • Intermediate mountain bike trail mileage was added. • Guests will be greeted by a new gatehouse, built with donations from Pioneer Oil Company.

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Indiana Dunes State Park • The state park is now connected by multi-use trail to the Dunes-Kankakee Bicycle Trail. • Two nesting towers were installed for the threatened osprey. • The interpretive dune gardens near the nature center were renovated. • A new viewing platform for Lake Michigan and bird viewing will be open to the public in early 2014. • A new “Three Dune Challenge,” offered in conjunction with Indiana Dunes Tourism, invites you to climb all three of the big dunes in the park.

Lieber SRA (Cagles Mill Lake) • Nature center visitors will be able to use a new sidewalk from the parking lot to the center and to Smokey’s Garden. • Cunot Ramp has a new courtesy dock for boaters to load passengers and gear. • The boat owners dock has a new security gate at the entrance.

Lincoln State Park • The nature center has a new exhibit mural and mastodon bones on display. • The new seawall and concrete sidewalks along the lakeside provide great access and prevent erosion. • The group camp cottages have new doors. • The spillway bridge has new decking/tread.

McCormick’s Creek • Roofing was installed at the recreation building, Canyon Inn, service area, nature center and saddle barn. • Canyon Inn’s pool house filter building is being replaced. • Wolf Cave reopens to the public on May 1, 2014. For more information about other caves that are open by permit only and caves that remain closed, see http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/5404.htm.

Mississinewa Lake • Bostwick Pond in Miami SRA will get a new control structure, bank stabilization and restocking this spring. • Two new beach-area shelters with electricity will be available for reservations by June 8. • Comfort station #6 in the campground will receive a facelift and will reopen in mid-June.

Monroe Lake • A family fossil dig area should be in place by Memorial Day near the activity center in Paynetown SRA. • Check out the new sign for the Paynetown Activity Center, where you can also pose for a photo with a nice (faux) stringer of fish.

Mounds State Park • A new program area near the campground will be used for weekend interpretive programs. • A box turtle sculpture has been added to the nature center’s Wildlife Viewing Area. • With re-plastering of the domestic room, restoration of the historic Bronnenberg Home is nearly complete. • New signs about the property’s amusement park era have been installed along Trail 5. • A new shelter will be open and available on a first-come, first-served basis by early summer.

O’Bannon Woods State Park • Site improvements have been made in Horseman's Hideaway Primitive Horse Camp. • New signage has been installed along property roads. • The pioneer farmstead behind the nature center has a new replica of a trapper's shed. • Restoration continues at the O’Bannon Group Camp with the addition of new Hardiboard siding. 3

Ouabache State Park • Campground A’s playground is getting a facelift with improved drainage and new rubber mulch. • The Lodge Recreation Building has a resurfaced floor and new central air-conditioning for the first time. • Improvements to trails include new gravel in wet areas and a new bridge on Trail 5 this year. • Thirty campsites will be enlarged with gravel to provide dry areas at each site by Memorial Day Weekend.

Patoka Lake • Improvements continue on the bike trail as more asphalt is replaced by concrete each season. • New wood duck boxes have been installed around the lakeshore. • Heaters were added to several modern campground restroom facilities. • The property has a new juvenile bald eagle as a permanent resident at the Patoka visitors center.

Pokagon State Park • The new 200-acre Trine State Recreation Area, just 2-miles east of Pokagon, will officially open on May 15. Features include the 28-acre Gentian Lake, a fully accessible fishing pier, paddleboats, kayaks and rowboats with electric motors for rent and excellent fishing. Also available are 12 cabins, the Swenson Lodge and Conference Center, the Wild Turkey Shelter and trails for walking and biking.

Potato Creek State Park • The cabins were spruced up with new bathroom floors, paint and new lighting and fans. • A new access trail to the beach is in place. • A project to replace hitching rails in the horse campground continues. • Friends of raised $6,000 to replace trees killed by the emerald ash borer insect; replacement will begin this spring and continue into fall. (Additional donations are welcome.) • Peppermint Hill Shelter has new windows.

Prophetstown State Park • The new aquatic center will be open for a full season with signage improvements, additional Adirondack chairs/tables and more concession stand food choices. • Two new trails (3 and 4) provide opportunities for hikers to visit the confluence of the Tippecanoe and Wabash rivers and enjoy scenic views of the park from trail bluffs. • Fifteen acres of prairie plantings were added. • Interpretive naturalists will offer guided programs and trolley tours at The Farm inside the park this season. • Park staff members are once again growing prairie wildflowers in the greenhouses near the office. A public plant sale is planned for May 10, 2014.

Raccoon SRA (Cecil M. Harden Lake) • Renovations have been made to the beach house. • The Mansfield Boat Ramp has a new courtesy dock walkway and approach. • Staff members have provided better bank fishing at public access areas.

Salamonie Lake • Campground pads have a new layer of gravel. • A new full-time security officer will join the staff this summer. • The beach swimming area has been extended by 300 feet, and sand has been added. • Volunteers are lengthening hitching posts so additional horses can be held in the Horsemen’s Campground.

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• The raptor center, constructed with support from the Friends of Upper Wabash Interpretive Services, added new educational birds. • The Dora SRA boat ramp was cleared of silt and debris. • Wildlife Management Unit 21, previously one of the property’s least accessible hunting areas, has a new parking lot. • Two acres of invasive autumn olive was removed along the entrance road. Office landscaping was improved.

Shakamak State Park • New heating/air-conditioning units have been installed in the family cabins. • The West Shelter Project has completed another phase with fireplace and flooring improvements. • Improvements have been made to the historic log cabin recreation building’s kitchen. • Basketball goals are now available by the family cabins, so guests should pack a basketball to bring.

Spring Mill State Park • New fun for families at the swimming pool includes a giant Connect Four game and poolside climbing wall. • The restroom in the Pioneer Village is moving—completion is scheduled for sometime this summer. • The Lakeview Activity Center (formerly the nature center) will open in May with movies, games and activities, a nature store and newly renovated accessible restrooms. • Stop by the Village Ordinary (concession stand), which is now park-operated, on the path to the Pioneer Village. A family of four can eat sandwiches, chips and drinks for less than $20. • The dry side of Donaldson Cave reopens to the public on May 1, 2014. For information about other caves that are open by permit only and caves that remain closed, see http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/5404.htm.

Summit Lake • New fish attractors were installed near the boat rental area for improved fishing. • Shingles were replaced on the beach house and A-2 campground comfort station. • The campground comfort stations were painted.

Tippecanoe River State Park • A new river overlook, built with funds and labor donated by the Friends of Tippecanoe River, awaits on the river’s edge at the River Picnic Area. • Two manure pits were added to the Horse Campground for a total of four, all built with donated funds. • Friends of Tippecanoe River State Park donated funds for taxidermy work on a great blue heron, which will be at the park office or the nature center.

Turkey Run State Park • The suspension bridge, damaged by flooding in spring 2013, has been repaired and is now open. • Trail improvements have been made under the north end of the bridge at the beginning of Trail 4. • Drainage improvements and installation of a water line to the garden are underway for the Lusk Home. • The observation beehive in the nature center, attacked by hive beetles last fall, has been rebuilt and stocked with new honeybees for a great look at the inside of a beehive.

Versailles State Park • Hiking trail numbers have been replaced with names. Each name is tied to park history and signs provide a look at that history. Check out the Old Forest Trail, Orchard Trail and Fallen Timber Creek Trail this year. • Group camp cabins received new mattresses, tables and chairs, and the group camp kitchen has a new walk-in cooler/freezer. Two cabins were reroofed. 5

• REMC is making electrical improvements to the campground. • Work continues on the new horsemen’s campground, with plans for nine sites to open later in the summer.

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